A Powerhouse for Marketing Efficiency
The practice of printing only what you need, Print on Demand (POD), is no longer a novelty but a powerful tool for modern marketing.
With its cost-effectiveness, agility, and eco-friendly approach, POD integrated into an automated brand program allows you to create high-impact marketing materials and promos that resonate with your audience without the risk of traditional print and bulk orders. No big spending. No leftover/outdated materials.
While POD offers numerous advantages, there are upsides and drawbacks to using POD for your branded print, promo, and hard goods. So, how do you know what’s right for your business? Here’s a look at both sides:
Advantages of Print-on-Demand
- Capital Preservation: By eliminating the need to purchase inventory upfront, POD frees up that capital for other uses within your business and can help you control your budget over time.
- Product Agility: POD enables businesses to introduce new product lines or designs quickly, adapt to changing trends, and respond to customer preferences, swapping out slow-moving products on a dime—all without the risk of overstocking.
- Reduced Inventory & Fulfillment Costs: Traditional inventory management involves storage, handling/packaging expenses, and potential write-offs for unsold merchandise. POD effectively mitigates these costs.
- Greater Operational Control: If you use a provider that manages POD as part of an integrated online store program, you benefit from seamless ordering, tracking, and invoicing with 24/7 access to program data, which helps you make more informed decisions about your expenditures—and field less complaint calls from users.
- Less Obsolescence: There’s nothing worse than having $3k in odd-sized shirts or boxes of campaign brochures sitting on shelves collecting dust. Due to innovative print and decorating techniques and quick-turn service, POD allows you to order what you need when you need it.
- Broader Scope: POD used to be a print collateral solution. Today, we can help customers optimize their programs by offering on-demand apparel and hard goods, such as one-off speakers and power banks. These items can be produced internationally or domestically, giving brands more options that meet their needs and values.
Challenges of Print-on-Demand*
- Slow Turnaround: Most companies try to manage POD programs manually, which can result in a customer service nightmare. For example, you might need to hold orders until minimum requirements are met to save money, ultimately slowing turnaround times.
- Potential Supply Chain Disruptions: Again, if you’re managing POD on your own, vulnerabilities in your supply chain can impact order fulfillment times and product quality. Partnering with a reputable supplier with a robust supplier network ensures your POD job gets matched to the best supplier to deliver on time and budget.
- Higher Unit Costs: Smaller order quantities typically associated with POD often result in higher per-unit costs than bulk ordering. But while unit costs are slightly higher, you have to factor in the savings you enjoy by not paying storage/inventory and pick-and-pack service fees.
- Customer Service Considerations: Most companies use manual order tracking, which is not automated or integrated with company store technology. This results in poor customer service because customer inquiries and expectations are managed without the benefit of real-time data tracking.
* Note that these challenges do not apply to all suppliers but are often associated with POD programs that are managed manually and void of data reporting. Full disclosure: Shamrock has solved these issues by implementing POD as part of an integrated, automated brand program.
The Role of Bulk Ordering
While POD offers flexibility, bulk ordering remains a viable strategy for specific product lines. By purchasing products in larger quantities, you can often achieve lower unit costs and faster delivery times. However, it is essential to carefully forecast demand to avoid excess inventory.
A Hybrid Approach
To optimize their brand merchandise strategies, many businesses find value in a hybrid approach that combines POD and bulk orders. By carefully analyzing product performance and customer demand, you can determine the optimal mix of each fulfillment method.
Use Technology to Manage Your POD or Hybrid Program
Consider working with a partner like Shamrock that offers an integrated digital platform for storing and managing your marketing materials, adding another layer of efficiency and cost savings to POD orders. For example, Shamrock’s powerful BrandSource technology platform provides a custom e-store interface that allows you and your users to order and fulfill POD brand materials—print, packaging, promo, apparel—from a single, easy-to-navigate online portal 24/7.
Our platform manages brand content from creation to acquisition to delivery. It combines collateral/promo customization, distribution, and management. Thus, it gives you the efficiencies of POD, plus online access and navigation, real-time reporting, and more.
We can leverage that data to help you understand more about your program and avoid common pitfalls such as carrying excess inventory, identifying slow-moving inventory, and the benefit of going with a bulk order to save time and money.
If you’d like to learn more about Shamrock’s POD capabilities and program management solutions, reach out. I’d love to help.
